2026 has seen a few 1000 Songs artists pass away. One such artist was Freddy Cannon. Freddy was an early proponent of rock and roll, influenced by the blues energy of the late 1950s. He was influenced by the likes of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly, while growing up in Massachusetts.

He initially recorded a song called "Rock and Roll Baby" with lyrics partially written by his mother. This became, in 1959, "Tallahassee Lassie" when he reworked it in collaboration with Bruce Moore, Bob Crewe and Frank Slay.

Tallahassee Lassie by Freddy Cannon

He became known affectionately as "Boom Boom" for his trademark big bass drum sound, which famously caused the needle to jump on early record players, he became a fixture on the television show "American Bandstand".

He is a proper Billboard chart star, scoring an impressive 22 entries on the Hot 100 over his career. In fact, "Tallahassee Lassie," actually made it to number 17 in the UK charts, only to be pipped by one place by Tommy Steele's o cover version. Steele was not the only artist to cover the song; other artists included The Tornados, Chubby Checker, and even The Rolling Stones (who had an early, unreleased version of the track in 1963).

He was 89 when he died, leaving behind a legacy as one of rock and roll's most joyful showmen!